You Gonna Eat That Jello?
by Denaliyasha
Summary: Sam remembers the first time she literally shared a meal with with Jack, and gets unexpected good news because of the... Coast Guard? JackSam, because I write nothing else.


Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine.

A/N: Something that came to me while sitting in my high school commons, waiting for the bell to ring. I'm also still gloating about having totally called the wedding scene in the episode 200. If you watched it and don't know what I mean, read my story Fitting and remember the dialogue. The distance is from a website I found online. Oh, and my gerbils are adorable. The one I named Carter is all curious and alert, and the one named Sir totally tries to bite me whenever I go to pet Carter.

**You Gonna Eat That Jello?**

The base cafeteria had always reminded her of high school. SG teams generally sat together, or the women formed a group and the men did too, and so the room was dotted with little cliques that reminded her of how it felt to be a nerdy teenager. Even now, after she'd saved the planet a few (well, ok, more than a few) times and was part of the "best" SG team, she still felt out of place sometimes. Especially today, when Daniel, Teal'c, and Mitchell were off doing their own thing and the General... well, he was in Washington.

Actually, her loneliness called to mind the first day she'd eaten on base. It had been dinner, the day before they'd left for Abydos.

_She'd grabbed a tray and a table in the corner, berating herself for talking back to a superior officer, especially one who she admired and respected (or had, until he'd turned out to be such an ass). The food was bland, but there were plenty of distractions to be found in watching the other occupants of the room._

_It was like high school all over again. The science geeks had all gathered around one table, blueprints, plans, and electronic gadgets she'd never seen before littering the surface. They seemed to be in a heated debate over something._

_The Air Force flyboys (you could see it in the smile) had congregated in another area. They swapped food, stories, and insults, but there was a real bond between them that even she could see._

_As an Air Force brat, she'd moved a lot. She'd seen these same sort of groups before, and she knew better than to try to join one. Among the scientists, her uniform would make her the odd one out, and among the other Air Force personnel her gender and her brain would do the same._

_She watched Colonel O'Neill walk into the room. He was immediately surrounded by the flyboys, grinning and chatting. They seemed to either know him or know OF him. A few nurses who'd come in behind him unashamedly ogled his ass as they moved past. Well, she couldn't blame them, he was really... Wait. Hold thought. Not even going there with the thoughts about her brand new commanding officer..._

_She found herself staring down at her plate, poking dubiously at some red substance (jello, maybe?). It wasn't until she felt the table shake that she realized someone had sat down across from her._

_"So, Captain Carter..."_

_She imagined she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, and she squashed it quickly. "Major Kowalski, right?"_

_He smiled. "That's right. So, you really flew those planes, huh?"_

_She nodded, wary. "Yes, I did."_

_"Regular flygirl, huh?" His grin was infectious. "I just have to ask, though... you don't speak any other languages, right?"_

_"Not really." She frowned. "Why?"_

_He sighed in exaggerated mock relief. "I don't know if I can take another geek who can insult me in 25 different tongues."_

_"You forget, Kowalski. It was only 24." Colonel O'Neill dumped his tray unceremoniously down next to Sam and raised a brow at her. "You gonna eat that jello, Captain?"_

_Hey, she'd been right. "No, Sir." She pushed it gingerly over._

_"Thanks. So... Carter. Any relation to General Jacob Carter?"_

_She sighed inwardly. She should have known he'd know of her father. "No, Sir." For the first time in her life, Samantha Carter lied to a commanding officer. In this case, it was a matter of pride: she didn't want him to respect her even less for having (he would think) gotten the position through her dad._

_"Mm." He tucked into the jello with more gusto than the jiggling substance seemed to warrant. The two men kept up light conversation that relaxed her enough to smile at a few of the jokes, and it was the first time she'd ever felt like she was part of one of the groups she'd seen forming around her. No, it was more that Colonel Jack O'Neill made his own circle, and she was lucky to be a part of it._

That had been one of the best days of her life. But the Colonel (now a General; seriously, who gave him that job?) was in Washington, 1487 miles away. And here she was, alone in a cafeteria full of people too in awe of her to sit down without invitation and people who hated her because she was who she was: a leader and something of a hero.

"You gonna eat that jello, Carter?"

She watched, dumbstruck, as he sat down at her table and snagged her little cup of jello. "Sir?"

"Jeez, Carter, I don't think you ever realized how old that makes me feel coming from you." He was grinning at the bemused look on her face. "What?"

"You... why aren't you in Washington?"

"I'm not allowed to visit my old command?" She arched an eyebrow at him, and he rolled his eyes. "Ok, so there have been a few regulation changes and I wanted to deliver them personally, cause seriously, do you how annoying it is to have to be diplomatic all the time?"

"You had to be diplomatic when you led SG-1," she pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but most of the time I then got to shoot people." A grin flashed across his face. "So... surviving the craziness that is Mitchell?"

She smiled. "I'm still here, aren't I?"

"You should have been in command of SG-1, you know." The teasing tone dropped from his voice.

"It's better this way." She shrugged. "If I were in command, I couldn't spend as much time with my..." she paused, then continued in a tone that suggested that she was using a dirty word. "Doohickeys."

"Hey, I'm rubbing off on you!" He sounded so pleased with himself, she couldn't help but laugh, roll her eyes, and go back to her food. "Hey," he whined like a kid being ignored. "Don't you wanna know what the reg changes are?"

"I'm sure I'll hear about them sooner or later."

There was silence for a few moments. "Did you know that in the Coast Guard, there are some assignments that are dangerous enough they're volunteer only, and when you come back you get to pick your next assignment?"

"Fascinating, I'm sure." She glanced up at him. "Is there a point to this?"

"I convinced the President to do... something like that. Except that instead of getting to pick your assignment, cause who really leaves the Stargate program voluntarily, you get exempted from the fraternization regs."

She froze, fork in midair, and looked up. He was poking at his (her!) jello, an unreadable expression on his face. With exaggerated care, she set down the fork and wiped her hands on a paper napkin. "And does it only apply to current SGC personnel?"

"Nope. I got him to do it for everyone who's ever worked there."

"How?" She couldn't believe he'd asked and the President had just said yes.

"I threatened to retire. For good." He raised his eyes to hers. "I was tired of not knowing, and I was tired of not being allowed to find out."

"Not knowing what?" She asked weakly.

"If this... thing between us could work." He reached over and threaded his fingers through hers. "I need to know, Carter."

Her smile was brilliant. "It won't work unless you can start calling me by something other than my rank or last name."

His lips curved in response. "I can do that, Sam. Now, are you going to kiss me and put me out of my misery, or am I gonna have to find one of the nurses who's always staring at my six?"

"No, Sir." She grinned as she pulled him across the table and kissed him. She murmured, "All mine," against his lips.

When they broke apart for breath, he tilted his head as though pondering something. "I think I like you calling me Sir. Proper respect and all that." And then she hit him, he laughed and kissed her again, and the rest of the people in the room turned back to their food as though they hadn't been watching.

A/N: Hope you like it.


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